By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
TEANECK, N.J. — Practice was scheduled to start at 5:15 Tuesday afternoon.
There would be a 45-minute session followed by an intrasquad scrimmage. Entering the Bogota Savings Bank Center at 4:45, one would notice the entire FDU team stretching and shooting. That speaks volumes about the program head coach Stephanie Gaitley has built.
FDU, coming off two straight undefeated conference seasons and a pair of regular season and postseason NEC championships, was hit hard by the transfer portal. Such is life these days in the college game, as virtually no one is immune. Among those exiting were both halves of this past season’s starting backcourt, Ava Renninger and Kailee McDonald. In addition, highly regarded assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jessica Simmonds left to take a similar position at Fordham. As a result, it has been a challenging offseason for Gaitley and the Knights.
There are several returnees, plus a number of new faces on board. The fact that it is now July and all are on the same page, arriving early and getting to work, is significant.
Assistant coach Ty Rozier stood courtside before excusing himself for a coaches’ meeting that stretched just past 5:15. When the coaches arrived on the court, the team was already in one of its shooting drills. This is impressive, and a great sign as the entire team began the prescribed workout on its own.
The drills included passing and shooting from the left and right mid-range corners, as well as the foul line. There were several full-court transition drills without defense, and one where an assistant holding foam padding bumped a player penetrating to the basket. Drills were timed, short and brisk.
The 45 minutes allotted before the scrimmage seemed to fly by before the team was divided into blue and white sub-teams. The respective coaches were Rozier and fellow assistant coach Jeremy Thompson. Across the way, I joined Gaitley and her husband, Frank, courtside. The scrimmage was under college conditions: Four 10-minute periods officiated by a three-person college crew.
The scrimmage ran at a brisk pace. Both teams would push the ball, but not force the issue, with no breaks before settling in and running half-court offense.
The blue team led after the first period, 12-9, and never lost the lead en route to a 52-34 win. Iriona Gravley of the white team led all scorers with 17 points, while Leah Crosby (13 points) and Rebecca Osei-Owusu (12) paced the blue team.
A number of free throws on both sides missed the mark. At one point, Stephanie Gaitley asked if I was counting free throws. I said that I was, and the final total saw both squads combine to shoot 8-of-17 from the charity stripe, a figure that did not resonate well with the veteran head coach.
An assignment handed to me by Gaitley was, based on the scrimmage, to pick my starting five and top three reserves. Here are my choices:
Starters:
Megan Ngo, G
Reese Downey, G
Rebecca Osei-Owusu, F
Iriona Gravley, F
Leah Crosby, C
Reserves:
Ane Valle, G
Theresa Biladi, G
Analyse Intenzo, G
Prior to the scrimmage, my thought was that the sophomore Downey would run the point. After one period, I penciled in Ngo. At 5-foot-4, the freshman guard epitomizes the coaching axiom, it’s not how big you are, but how big you play. Ngo is quick, can get in the lane, and uses her outstanding basketball IQ to make good decisions. Downey is more comfortable at her two-guard spot, but could conceivably shift to the point on a part-time basis if need be.
Up, front Rebecca Osei-Owusu and Leah Crosby are returning veterans. Osei-Owusu, a senior, is a solid rebounder. Crosby plays the post but has expanded her shooting range to the perimeter, per Gaitley. Gravley, a transfer from Drexel is a great addition. The 6-foot junior can run the floor and hit the boards effectively. The notation in my book said, “all over the floor on both ends.”
Ane Valle was the CACC Defensive Player of the Year for conference champion Felician. Valle adds the defense Gaitley desires, as well as a solid offensive game and locker room presence as well. Biladi was brought to my attention by Gaitley during practice. She is listed as a guard, but can hit the glass inside and plays with energy. The third reserve was a tough call, but the more I watched Intenzo, the more I admired her.
“Good choice,” Frank Gaitley said. “She and Reese were two best three-point shooters in South Jersey as seniors, and you need three-point shooters.”
Gaitley has sung the praises of her staff, and rightfully so. Rather than rest on the laurels of back-to-back championships, her assistants logged the extra hours finding players to replace those lost to the portal, and not just arbitrarily filling roster spaces either. The newcomers had to have talent, be good teammates and willing to buy into the philosophy of Gaitley and her staff. Watching how the newcomers interact with each other and the coaches, you can grade the assistants with an A-plus job. That was not lost on Gaitley, who promoted Rozier and Thompson to recruiting coordinators. In addition, Nickie Carter was promoted from director of operations to full-time assistant. Layla Laws, a former player at Saint Peter’s University, is now director of basketball operations.
Following the scrimmage, Gaitley assessed where the team is right now.
“I’m excited,” she said. “Excited where we are as a group. We are a very young group with a lot of new faces and different people stepping up. They are enthusiastic, hard-working gym rats who work to get better. I’m just excited about what I see.”
Last year, FDU was dangerous from beyond the arc. Gaitley feels it will be different people stepping up in that regard this coming season.
“We are going to have to knock down the three,” she admitted. “We have some freshmen (notably Intenzo) capable of doing it. We have returning kids who can shoot, maybe not quick like Kailee, but I think we’ll still have some depth at the three and Leah has improved in that area.”
Final Notes:
It is a case of vision. Prognosticators may look at what FDU lost without seeing what it has, or has added. This is a young team, talented and well-connected with outstanding chemistry. The Knights will be a team that will only get better each practice and each game out. This is a group that will be a contender, and far from an easy out in NEC play.
Megan Ngo’s mother is Jennifer Zenszer, a member of the La Salle Hall of Fame. Megan’s recruitment was well-chronicled by Frank Gaitley.
“When Steph was at Saint Joseph’s, Megan’s mother was a point guard and Steph recruited her hard,” Frank said. “Steph really wanted her. The mom liked Steph and Saint Joseph’s, but her whole family went to La Salle and she felt an obligation to go. (Zenszer) cried when she gave Steph the news she wasn’t coming.” “Then she cried four more years,” Frank added somewhat light-heartedly, “when La Salle never beat Saint Joseph’s during her time there.”
Years later, Stephanie would recruit the daughter with the same zeal. This time, the answer was affirmative. No tears, only smiles.
Prior to exiting, I rebounded (recalling my St. Bonaventure manager days) a few minutes for Ngo and Valle, who were taking some extra shots. I mentioned the team might hear about its free throw shooting at practice the next day.
“We already heard it in our huddle after the scrimmage,” they said with a smile.
Another learning opportunity for a team certain to see more on a daily basis.
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